Kid Tsunami – The Chase LP [Headbop Records]

I first heard the name Kid Tsunami when Pocho from Headbop Records linked me to the preview clip from his (then) forthcoming album The Chase. The production immediately caught my ear and I really wanted to hear the full versions of the tracks with this devastating line up including many of my favourite emcees. To say it sounded promising was an understatement. If names like Krs-One, Kool G Rap, Masta Ace, AG, OC, J-Live, Pharoahe Monch (it just goes on and on…) don't grab your attention, well… I'm not sure you can be helped.

There are two kinds of naysayers to an album like this and I will explain why both are wrong. The first kind moan that producer based albums with a lot of features are not cohesive as a whole. The second maintain that there is some kind of issue with paying artists for their features.

Okay. First point: the difference between those feature based albums and The Chase is that this producer went to New York (halfway round the world from Perth, Australia) and built his connections organically (as Cool Budda Slick describes himself in his blog), working with a specific wishlist of emcees. The album is crafted with different beats to match certain emcee's styles and puts certain emcees together in ways that means zero filler, no skipping.

Second point: People who have an issue with paying for features do not understand the industry and the logistics necessary to put a project like this together, not to mention the actual work and struggle that results in the manifestation of a personal dream. The music stands for itself regardless and the artwork by Fred Whyte is also amazing.

To cut to the chase, The Chase is a Grail album, a flawless masterpiece that will inevitably be hailed as a classic, still getting plays in 2023 and beyond (note: don't read that last sentence with cynicism, it wont work. Instead, listen, agree with me then send me a message telling me I am right and I am a genius).

Hip Hop people, …ah you remember now?

By: Esh | IBMCs

• http://kidtsu.bandcamp.com/album/the-chase

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